What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Research Stage: I used sites like SurveyMonkey to try and get audience research from different platforms in the media, however the only responses I got where Immature and not relevant so I decided not to use them. I used a online presentation site called Prezi I did this so I could show that I used multiple sites/software to create and research my product. I used an online chart maker as well called  ChartGo to create the graphs shown in my audience research blog post. I also used Flickr for a small activity at the start of the course to analise a college magazine cover however I decided not to use Flickr for other analysis's as I thought Prezi was better.

Production Stage:For the production stage I didn't use huge amounts of equipment, Camera, Tripod and some Lights to help give an effect on my photos for my magazine. Photoshop was the main programme we used to create our magazines, photoshop gives the chance to create some very professional looking work and I liked working and adapting my skills in it. Some of the tools I used in photoshop were the 'wind tool which I used to create an effect on my title. Another tool I used was the gradient tool you can use this to create different gradients on your page which gives another professional look to your product. The most important tool I used was the cutting out tools eg Magic Wand Tool and the quick selection tool these tools are used to cut out an image from its background which I had to do for my magazine. There are hundreds of things you can do on photoshop, another technique I used was changing the opacity of certain texts and images, what this does is give that certain layer a see through effect so you can have something in the back ground like what I did on my double page spread and my contents page. Even though the text tool is one of the more simple tools however I used it to make perfect cover lines. I create a different text box for each word so I was able to move each individual layer so I could make them look better, although this is a very simple technique its also a very effective one. To perfect this I also took 'Snap' off so the layers didn't snap into place and I was able to move the layers exactly where I wanted them to be. I also used the colour picker this is a very clever and handy tool, it allows you to pick any colour you want and you can also pick any colour on the page so if you want something the exact same colour you are able to do this. I used this on my front cover to get the exact same yellow all over the page.


Evaluation Stage:


For the evaluation stage I haven't used many types of media to present my results/evaluation. Prezi is one of the main sites I have used as mentioned before I think it gives something better than just a simple word document of a slide show. The main site that I have used is Blogger itself which I have used from the start to show every piece of work I have made. There are many advantages to Blogger, one is you are able to have all of your work stored in one place and for me as I am a very disorganised person is perfect, also you can upload pictures and also embed Prezis I have made straight into the blog which is also a big bonus compared to the old school writing out an essay. Using Blogger and other sites like Blogger have been a positive experience for me, personally I do not like having hundreds of peices of paper in my bag and having to find the right one as I normally just lose them so this has been a huge advantage for me and organising my work properly. The only disadvantage I have with blogger is that it is online and some people may not be able to get online all the time, thought the half term I wasn't able to do work as my internet was down and so this put me at a disadvantage compared to everyone else in the group. Now I have been introduced to Prezi I am very much a fan of it and so it could be used in life in general if someone wanted to present a idea to a business instead of having a boring powerpoint. Im not sure what you could use blogger for apart from keeping your work organised and tidy however im sure some people can use it to blog their life and what id happening at that point in time.